Let him who desires peace prepare for war.
—Vegetius, c. 385Quotes
Why has the government been instituted at all? Because the passions of men will not conform to the dictates of reason and justice without constraint.
—Alexander Hamilton, 1787Democracy is the recurrent suspicion that more than half of the people are right more than half of the time.
—E.B. White, 1944I shall be an autocrat: that’s my trade. And the good Lord will forgive me: that’s his.
—Catherine the Great, c. 1796To be turned from one’s course by men’s opinions, by blame, and by misrepresentation shows a man unfit to hold office.
—Quintus Fabius Maximus, c. 203 BCThe U.S. presidency is a Tudor monarchy plus telephones.
—Anthony Burgess, 1972The affairs of the world are no more than so much trickery, and a man who toils for money or honor or whatever else in deference to the wishes of others, rather than because his own desire or needs lead him to do so, will always be a fool.
—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, 1774Do that which consists in taking no action, and order will prevail.
—Laozi, c. 500 BCYou have all the characteristics of a popular politician: a horrible voice, bad breeding, and a vulgar manner.
—Aristophanes, c. 424 BCI work for a government I despise for ends I think criminal.
—John Maynard Keynes, 1917I am invariably of the politics of the people at whose table I sit, or beneath whose roof I sleep.
—George Borrow, 1843The first requirement of a statesman is that he be dull.
—Dean Acheson, 1970Envy is the basis of democracy.
—Bertrand Russell, 1930